Twinning (Rewrite)
by ByteOfBacon
Summary: This man isn't like the other owners, he feeds us and gives us clothing, he's almost kind. But i'll damn myself to hell before i let him, or anyone hurt Raphtalia.
1. 1. The beginning

**A/N: It's time. Rewrite time! Woooo!**

**This is a fixup of the previous version of Twinning, since while it was enjoyable, it wasn't perfect. I decided a while ago that Twinning needed a rewrite. I'm not happy with the original, some of you probably didn't like it either. Especially how i ended it and how things were not planned.**

**So, here we are. More info at the bottom.**

**Enjoy!**

The cage felt wet on top of the damp, mossy stones. I sniffled and coughed. The blurry grey lines that made up the cage were cold.

"R-Raphtalia." I croaked out. I saw a brown blob come a bit closer to me. She coughed too, a little bit of spit hitting the ground.

"Faust Fire." I felt the warmth immediately form on top of my finger. I poured a bit more energy into it, nurturing the flame. I held it near Raphtalia. She huddled towards the warmth. Our backs were cold, but something was better than nothing.

The small flame only lasted five minutes before I clattered back against the cage. It rang out briefly, then stopped. The flame disappeared into a wisp of smoke.

"Ariete!" Raphtalia moved closer and grasped my hand.

"It's just the lousy food. I… I'll be fine." In honesty, I was pretty sure I had only a few days left. It felt hard to breathe, my lungs were buckets of syrupy water and drowning in yourself isn't something you don't notice.

I hate that it also drains my mana too. Can't keep the flame going for Raphtalia. I'm exhausted of mana.

"Sorry, sis. I can't keep the fire going."

"I-It's fine. This is enough." Her hand gestured towards her clothes. It was just a torn sheet I tied for her. At least for decency's sake.

I heard talking. Danger.

"Raphtalia, head down." I put an arm around her back and laid as close to flat as I could in the tiny cage. As footsteps approached, Raphtalia let out a cough. Dammit!

I felt the slight warmth from the light as the cloth over the cage was lifted.

"Raise your heads."

Raphtalia tried to lift her head, but I kept it down. Mine stayed facing the stone. If we were stubborn, maybe they'd take us. Then the plan wouldn't work.

"He said to lift your heads, girls." The gruff tone of the slaver sent chills down my back.

Purple sparks flew from our crests. The pain hit like a brick wall, hard. I gave a grunt, Raphtalia sat up, screaming.

"Don't harm my purchase. I'll take both of them."

I got tugged out roughly, followed by my sister. Raphtalia whimpered. I looked towards the exit. It was so close. Another escape. I was dragged away from it. Maybe my plan would work with a quick edit.

"Sir, I need a bit of blood for the binding process." The slaver said.

I tapped Raphtalia on the shoulder. "Here." I slipped a vial of white water to her.

"What's this?" She whispered back.

"Holy water. Pour it on your crest and it'll disappear. Run right after."

"Do you have one?"

"My pickpocketing isn't that good. Besides, the guy only had one vial. Now quickly, pour and go!" The man with a shield was almost finished putting his blood into the pan. Raphtalia was taking too long.

I plucked the vial out of her hand and popped the cork. I poured it onto her crest. She winced as the purple sign dissolved into wisps of white smoke. I pushed her forward. "Go! Now!"

"Hey, what're you two doing!?" The slaver yelled. Raphtalia tried to run, but the slaver caught her by the arm. Dammit! She was so close!

"What's this? Your slave crest is gone? I wonder who decided you were free…" He turned his head and stared at me. He took Raphtalia by the collar and shoved her back towards me. The empty vial slipped out of my hand and shattered on the ground.

"Hmmm… two girls trying to defy their master? What do you say, sir?"

"Leave her be, I'll punish her how I want later." The man with the shield said. "Hurry up, I don't have time to waste here."

I sighed in relief. The man was gruff and definitely angry. I can see it through the constantly angled eyebrows. At least it can be delayed. I moved the trembling Raphtalia to my side.

The slaver brought over a brush and a pan. I offered Raphtalia my hand; she took it. The bonding process was always painful. He did me first, tugging away the tied sheet on me and painting a circle. The ink burned along with my crest. I gripped Raphtalia's hand and winced. The purple glow receded and I took in a deep breath.

Raphtalia didn't take it as well as me. When the ink hit her chest, she immediately began to squirm. The pain must have increased twofold, since the bonding was happening at the same time as the crest was put back. Her hand tightened on mine, enough that it hurt almost as much as the crest. After her bonding was done, she clung to my arm and took short gasps of breath. I turned and took her into a hug. I glared at the slaver who shrugged, chuckled and pointed to our new owner.

"What're your names?" he asked. I'm not sure why. None of the other owners asked for it. Eh, better not to question it.

"Ariete. She's Raphtalia."

He pushed us outside. I felt the warm rays of the sun hit my skin. Warmth. It felt nicer than the small flames I could make in the cage. I made sure to savour the feeling, even if my eyes hurt a little from the difference in light.

He led us to a shop. A bulky, tanned man looked at him, then us, then back to him.

"I need clothes for these two and weapons."

The shopkeeper sighed. "You know you're not helping you image buy buyin' a pair of slaves. Twins, by the looks of it."

"It's none of your business. Clothes and weapons. Keep it under five silvers, thanks."

The shopkeeper slid some clothes onto the counter. "This is all I have in a remotely fitting size." He said. Naofumi glanced between the two of us. He gave Raphtalia one set of clothes and me another.

"Change, quickly please."

Raphtalia's set was a red and brown dress with some straps along the chest. The shopkeeper added in a sheath for a knife at her belt.

I entered the changing booth and shrugged off the rags I'd worn for months. The new clothes were a short sleeved shirt. On top of the orange background, thin red stripes ran up. A brown cloak went over it, and a sheath hidden on the inside. Both me and Raphtalia had slightly oversized boots. For once, I had real underwear. A skirt covered my waist.

When I exited the booth, Raphtalia was fiddling with the hem of her dress. She looked at me. I walked over to her and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She was still trembling. Trying to calm someone when you're not calm yourself is a bit hard. I still didn't know this man's intentions. Why'd he buy us? If for our bodies, why'd he give us clothing? The clothes both came with sheaths, but if he wanted us to fight, why pick two sickly, scrawny little girls?

"What weapons fit them?" Our owner asked.

"They're too small for a sword, probably they'd only really be comfortable with knives and daggers." The shopkeeper laid a selection out.

Our owner picked two similar ones for us. Raphtalia stored hers. He held one towards me. "Take it."

I took a deep breath. I reached out and wrapped my fingers around the handle. My arm was a bit shaky, and the weapon slipped out of my grip. The sharp point put itself into the wooden floor.

"Is there a problem?" he asked. I knew that those words always came with a threat in them, so I hurriedly shoved the knife into my cloak.

"Alright, Raphtalia. You first. Draw your knife." I was scared of what he was going to ask her to do, but I was more scared of what he'd do if she refused. I nudged Raphtalia. She drew the knife.

Our owner reached into his cloak and pulled out a balloon. It chomped on his bare arm, but the skin didn't give an inch. "Stab it." He ordered. Raphtalia yelped and the knife from her hand nearly fell like mine did.

"I said I ordered you to stab it!" He yelled again. The slave crest activated this time. I immediately went to embrace Raphtalia as soon as I saw the unfortunately familiar purple glow. Her knife clattered against the floor as she slumped into the fetal position.

"This country has gone to hell…" the shopkeeper mumbled.

Raphtalia grabbed the knife. The glow ended and her pained yell turned into heavy gasps of air. I helped her up. I sent a glare at our owner, not that it'd do anything.

Raphtalia stumbled over and thrust at the balloon. Most of the knife missed, and the part that did hit the balloon bounced off.

"Harder!" He yelled. Raphtalia yelped and stabbed straight into the balloon. It made a pop. Raphtalia stumbled back to me. I rubbed her back, trying to soothe her. Her first kill, technically.

Our owner had taken out another balloon and held it in his hands. This time, he gestured for me to kill it.

I reached down to the floorboards and took a splinter from the planks. The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow. "Faust Fire." I felt just a tiny bit more tired and a candle-like flame appeared on my finger. As I held the flame closer to the piece of wood, I poured mana into the flame.

The splinter caught quickly. The flames left a general warmth on my fingers rather than the melting heat it actually produced. I tossed it at the balloon. The small line of flame pierced the balloon and went past it, igniting the wood stand behind it.

"OI!" The shopkeeper yelled. He dashed into his backroom and then came out with a bucket of water. He dumped it onto the flaming armor stand. My work had left a good amount of scorch marks.

"Hey, you're going to need cover me replacing that..." He looked at me and Raphtalia and his eyes softened.

"Ah, whatever. Six silvers for the knives. Have the clothes on the house."

And with that, we left the shop.

**For this story, I'm going to start replying to reviews in PMs rather than these notes. Sorry to the guests. **

**This story is probably going to update bi weekly, but no promises. If I do end up with backlog, I'll post a chapter early.**

**Also, This story is now on AO3. To be honest, I almost prefer FFN's style of posting, but oh well. The people in the Raphumi discord have practically bullied me to posting there.**

**Well, That's all for now! I'll be back in probably two weeks.**

**Bacon, Signing off.**


	2. Discoveries

**A/N: Boy, am I glad to be back writing Ariete. Special thanks to my brain for providing words to put down.**

**To clear up something:**

**Ariete and Raphtalia have been slaves for two years in this universe, hence the reason they have been wearing the rags for so long. Ariete also is much more tired from being a slave for so long.**

**Also, just if you wanted to know I listen to Kizuna AI when writing. Check out her songs, they're pretty good, especially her newest release.**

**Important message at the end about the lateness and also the first omake (wooo!)**

**Aside from that, enjoy!**

With our new clothes, we headed down the street. I noticed people avoiding us, or rather our new master. Each gave a disgusted look at him, then looked at us, then back at him with more disgust. I looked at our master. He had a spiteful look, his eyebrows permanently pointed to the bridge of his nose, his mouth stuck in a grimace full of despair. He looked at the same avoiding crowds and clenched his fist.

He seemed to feel wronged by this world, and this world seemed to feel wronged by him.

Raphtalia's belly let out a loud growl. She made an "Eep!" sound and covered her stomach. I was about to elbow her as a silent protest, but then my stomach betrayed me too.

"Are you two hungry?" he asked. Raphtalia and I shook our heads. Behind me, I could hear the slight swish of our tails.

"Come on, you can't fight on an empty stomach." He pulled us into a tavern. Raphtalia looked between him and the anti-demihuman signage. I elbowed her.

"C'mon. Let's just follow him." I whispered. A little shove pushed her into the building and I followed.

The sweet smell of food hit me. Ah, how I wish for a proper meal. My sister joined in with me at marvelling the food around us. One small boy was eating his meal of crisp, fresh veggies and juicy slices of meat. A small pile of rice accompanied the meal. Me and Raphtalia had our mouths watering.

"Two of what that kid's having over there," Our master pointed to the meal we were watering over. "And also one of your cheapest meal sets."

We sat down. Raphtalia looked nervously at the brooding man. I bumped her with my leg.

"Don't look him in the eye, he won't like it. Best we can do until I come up with something else is avoid his wrath." Submit when he wants to, protect the vitals and try to let out just the right amount of tears and whines. Too strong, they'll think you're tough and need more breaking. Too weak, and they punish you for being boring then sell you off starving.

It's a pattern I was familiar with.

A waitress slid two trays to me and Raphtalia with the same meal as the boy. The smells tempted me to dig straight in.

Our master had his plain set of veggies and rice put in front of him. We both stared at the table and waited. I'm not sure if he just put the meal there to test us or to tempt us or-

"Are you two going to eat?"

Raphtalia asked before I could. "Is it really fine?"

He nodded with a confused look. I took a tentative bite.

…

…

...

It's really good.

I looked at him again, and he gave a confused nod. Raphtalia got the signal and we started shoving our first proper meal in years into our mouths.

As I chewed I noticed the wary looks and hushed whispers directed at our table. Maybe he's a former criminal or something? Something to make him infamous among the people.

Eh, worries later, food first.

* * *

After our meal at the pub, he led us to the meadows outside the city. Raphtalia looked at the beginner adventurers fighting monsters and clung to me. I lent my arm.

At first, Raphtalia was hesitant as the man blocked balloons and ordered us to stab them. I mostly stayed back and burned any that got too close. With good food in my belly, I found myself with a bigger pool of mana than I've ever had in the past two years.

I also had a newfound passion for setting fires. We came upon what looked like an egg, with tiny little blobs for hands and feet. It jumped. Our master bashed the thing away. It jumped again and tried to sink it's buck teeth into his skin. It didn't even put pressure on it.

I wondered if his skin would get burnt. Eh, it's probably fine. I gestured for Raphtalia to stay back. Tsuvait magic still needs a chant, albeit a short one. "I am the one who commands the origin of power! Let a flame engulf my foes! Tsuvait Fire!" Three small points of pure heat balled up on my fingertips. I sent them towards the egg creature. It popped on the second hit. The third orb hit a branch and turned it to ash.

What was left behind was a green egg, cooked by my magic. The eggshell was mixed in haphazardly and what was supposed to be the yolk had a rotting smell. Raphtalia gagged to the side while I held my nose.

"Now all we need is some ham and the set'll be complete." I gave our master a confused look. He waved it off. Little lights in his eyes told me he was using status magic. A hero? No, it can't be. Especially since he's wielding a shield. What Shield hero would buy slaves? They're supposed to be kind, right?

I decided to take my mind off of it. We started walking. I passed the time playing with fire. Literally. A few words summoned a ball just big enough to fill my hand. I tossed it up and down as we walked. The thing would hardly even ignite wood, but it'd do for a toy. I eyed our master carefully. He kept his head looking forwards. I tried a few tricks. First, up over the head, catch it on my heel, then toss it back. I made the move perfectly. Seems I still have it. A cough nearly made me drop the ball.

Our master looked to the side. I extinguished the ball and looked down. His eyes were on me, but they passed over.

"Lets camp here." I heard the faint noise of a river. He unhooked a bedroll from his belt and spread it out.

He lent us a towel. "Go bathe, you two. I'll be nearby fishing, so just yell if you need help." Huh, they usually don't mind if we're a bit smelly, after all they're the reason we're dirty.

Me and Raphtalia went to the river and started bathing. For once, I felt completely clean as two year's worth of dirt washed off. I noticed my skin was a fair bit paler than I thought it was. Raphtalia was washing herself to the side. I sneaked behind her and splashed her back.

"Ah!" She turned to look at me. She frowned and then splashed me. I laughed. We started splashing back and forth for a while.

This, this was nice. A taste of freedom. I wasn't in a cage, in chains or locked down. The only reminder of my slavery was my crest. I felt joy.

"Hurry up before it gets dark!" I heard our Master's voice through the trees. I frowned. Raphtalia looked at me. I nodded.

We dried off with the towe and put back on our clothes. We headed back to the camp.

"Go gather some sticks."

I went with Raphtalia and gathered some dry branches from the ground. I moved the sticks over to her then took a loose log from the forest floor. I'll assume he wants that too. We walked back to the clearing.

Our master already had a pile of logs and was tapping two rocks together. He looked up. "Oh, you got a log?" I nodded and set it down with the rest.

He walked up to me. His arm started reaching for me. I raised my arms and flinched. Here we are. Stupid me, should've done what he told me-

A warm feeling and a little weight settled on top of my head. My ears twitched at the contact. I opened my eyes. His hand was on top of my head, ruffling my hair. Huh. I lowered my arms.

It's been a while since I've been patted. Why… Why's he being so nice? It's very suspicious. He could be a plain adventurer or… something else.

I need more info. I'll see if I can get some by using my now restored good hearing and vision when we're in town.

Meanwhile as the sunset turned to twilight, our Master was still banging rocks. He looked to me, sitting next to Raphtalia.

"Can you use your magic to ignite fires?" I nodded. Is he dense? Of course I could. Not that I'd tell him that to his face.

I stood in front of the pile of wood and picked up a branch. "Faust Fire." A small flame appeared on my fingertip. I held it to the branch. It took a bit, but the branch caught fire. I cut off my mana to the flame on my finger and it disappeared into a wisp of smoke.

I set the branch down and fanned the flame. The air nurtured it until it grew into a cozy, crackling fire. Our master seemed impressed. He pulled some sticks from his bag and started to skewer fish. He planted them to cook near the fire. SHe turned them around after a few minutes, then took them off. He squeezed some juice from a fruit over it then handed one to me and one to Raphtalia. I bit into the fish.

It was better than the tavern's food by a long shot. The outside was crispy and had a lemon flavor to it. The inside was perfectly cooked tender, soft meat. I devoured the whole treat. Raphtalia also ate the fish quickly. I couldn't help but let out a satisfied sigh. A cough accompanied it.

He also gave us a cup made of leaves filled with a syrupy liquid. I took a tentative taste. "Ewwww! Bitter!" I said.

"It's medicine, drink it." I inwardly groaned. Suck it up, Ariete. I downed the bitter concoction. Raphtalia required a bit more coaxing but she also drank the medicine

"You two sleep first, I'll take watch and wake you up if anything happens."

We nodded and laid down on the dirt.

"What are you two doing? Use the bedroll."

Huh? Isn't that for him only? I pointed to the bedroll with a confused look. He nodded. Even poor masters usually don't feel a need to share and make us sleep on the dirt. I pointed and silently asked the same question. He nodded again. I searched for malice, but his gaze didn't show a drop.

It's strange, but I'll accept it. I gestured for Raphtalia to lay down first then I did. It was more comfy than the dirt. And slowly but surely, I fell asleep on the first day of my last master.

**A/N: Before the extra long endnote, I have a question. Would you like me to write out the chants (like I did this chapter) or would you rather I just imply they're there? I'm going to use the former and slowly progress to the latter, but if you'd like me to just keep with the chants or remove them altogether, feel free to review or PM.**

**This endnote I'm writing before finishing the chapter is going to be a bit mopey and not exactly the perfect picture of sanity. But it's something I need to get out, and being the coward I am, I'm doing it to you, where hopefully the consequences can truly be damned. **

**I'm not exactly the best morally good person. I do know right and wrong, the thing is I do just skirt into the territory of wrong a lot. Lately, those little (and two big) transgressions just snowballed into one big ol' lump of self hatred and regret. Out comes the original Twinning. More or less me venting. That becomes more and more apparent as things get less and less coherent, especially as SGDS and the one shots came out. Realizing this, I start degrading my own work. SGDS is a clusterfuck and the end of Twinning is a mess. This is the reason Chapter 5 for that series is delayed and why this chapter was too. So, I've decided on a solution.**

**I'm going to put SGDS for the time being on an indefinite hiatus, and also when I start again I'll edit the existing chapters before I begin to post new ones. With this new rewrite you're also going to see more serious me and less wacky funny silly me. More dark depressing mental struggles and more real plot. I see that Twinning became a reflection of my mental state, so I'm going to keep it that way. I also want it to be coherent and readable so I'm gonna try my damnedest to find a beta. Does that mean I'm going to continue the schedule? As a loose goal, yes. But I'm going to keep my breaks as breaks and my work as work. Because I'd rather have a mental breakdown later rather than sooner.**

**Sorry bout that 300 word abyss, but i just needed to get things off my chest. Sigh.**

**Well, this is the part where I do an omake. This one is a bit later in the story, but they're still children.**

Omake 1: Pillow Fight!

Naofumi noticed giggles from the other bed. He opened one eye and looked over. Nothing. He closed it again.

More giggles. This time he looked carefully at the other bed. No movement. The giggles came again and he heard a soft "poof"

Another "poof"

One of his slaves rolled onto the bed wielding a pillow. Ariete, he remembered. She laughed as his other one whacked her in the side with a pillow. He looked outside the inn. It wasn't too dark. He decided to watch the two girls. Ariete rolled out of the way of another blow and pushed herself off the bed. Raphtalia was hit in her arm, and she retaliated with a laugh and a swing. Ariete took it to the side, falling back on the bed.

Raphtalia leapt on top of her sister, and they both kept laughing.

Naofumi watched. He remembered a time his brother and him also had a pillow fight. He watched and grinned in nostalgia.

Ariete ducked under a swing and tackled her sister to the bed. She then started trying to whack her sister with the pillow. Raphtalia rolled and switched positions with Ariete. She got pushed off and they both sat up, kneeling on the sheets. Raphtalia tossed a pillow.

Naofumi's memories were interrupted as a pillow hit him in the face. He pushed it off and looked at the girls. Both were now sitting on the bed, with terrified expressions. He watched them turn to surprise as he tossed back the pillow with a smile and picked up his own.

"Whoever loses has to gather firewood next time we camp." He said.

The two girls looked at each other, then at him. They smiled.

As the night went on, guests complained about loud laughing from the room. All they could see was a man being beaten with pillows in his bed by two little girls.

**Thanks to bryanicus in the Raphumi discord for giving me the idea for a pillow fight. **


	3. Nightmares and Bullies What fun!

**A/N: Well, I suppose you all like this version more. I do, at least. **

**I rewatched Sherlock the other day and have gone on a bit of a Sherlolly (Sherlock/Molly Hooper) binge. They're just adorable together. Feel free to comb through my favorites over the next few days.**

**I know that the dog should be next, but what's the fun in rushing? Felt the need to include these scenes from the LN and the Usapiru. Also helps further the arc's plot, so that's good.**

**I only realised now that status magic is available to everyone in SH. That's an oopsie on my part.**

**Another thing, I only realised after publishing the last chapter I forgot to include Raphtalia's nightmares, so I included them here along with a few hints (read: an entire nightmare sequence) to Ariete's backstory**

**Aside from that, enjoy! **

I stood in the middle of a sandy arena. Crowds around me cheered as another girl my height walked towards me... I had a knife in my hand. I saw my face in the reflection of the perfectly sharpened metal. My hair was curly and clean, my skin smooth and spot-free. I glanced up. The girl was now in front of me, holding a perfect copy of my knife. Her figure was darkened. I could make out pale skin and brownish blonde hair. Little ears similar, but not the same, as mine showed on top of her head. She was… familiar.

She slashed at me first. Her knife passed in front of me, but I felt pain in my chest. I looked down and found a cut near my heart. She slashed at the air in front of me and I yelped as another cut appeared. Why are we doing this? Can't we get along? I tried to speak, but she cut me again, this time her knife sank into my arm. I screamed. She pulled it out. I grabbed the wound she left. It hurt. It hurt like hell.

"Stop it!" I yelled. We know each other, don't we? The crowd laughed. A red glint came from underneath the shadow of her hair. Then red-stained memories filled my vision. Raphtalia lying face down in a pool of blood, our town flag, ripped and flaming. _Her._

I dodged her next stab and plunged my knife in her. She crumpled instantly. I looked at her face as she fell face first. I now looked at her knife. My hair was tangled and greasy. My face was caked in dirt, reddened with bruises and cuts.

I looked back at the girl. She was now lying on her back, her face twisted into a mix of hate, pain and sadness, and one more feeling.

_Betrayal._

* * *

I shot up from the sleeping mat in a cold sweat and panting. The first thing I noticed was that Raphtalia wasn't next to me. My eyes darted around, looking for her. I saw her by our new master, sleeping against his calf.

He looked at me at first with an expression of '_I swear I'm innocent here.' _but then it steeled.

"Do you want to sleep by the fire too?" I nodded as the adrenaline from my nightmare rushed out of my body like leaves in a river. I yawned again and laid next to Raphtalia and forced myself to try and sleep again.

* * *

We spent the next few days in the forest and meadows fighting the same creatures. Once in a while, he glanced above our heads and his frown lessened. His frown never went away, it only got deeper or shallower. I assumed he looked at my level when he did that. I was impressed too, going from level 7 to 12 in only a few days. Raphtalia was a few levels behind.

I let myself feel a bit of pride but tried to not let it show. I was also a bit taller now. I used an abandoned sack we found in the woods as a backpack as I carried the balloon skins and bedroll.

I picked up a bit of rustling in the bushes. I nudged Raphtalia and readied my magic. "I am the mage of Rurorona Village, heed my words and summon flames! Tsuvait Fire!" I kept the fist-sized ball close to my hand to save mana. I worked through some math in my head to figure out a path for the ball.

Raphtalia yelped as a rabbit with sharp buck teeth leapt at her, trying to bite her. She dropped her knife. I pushed her out of the way, the rabbit landing in between us. I dodged its next leap. My ball of flames vanished as my mind split into different tasks. It then targeted our Master. He bashed it to the side with his shield then captured it in his hands.

"Raphtalia, Now!" He yelled. I picked up the dagger and pressed it into Raphtalia's hands. She was shaking.

"B-But it'll bleed…" She whimpered. Oh. Right. This is her first time attacking something that bleeds.

"Raphtalia, I need you to go and stab it. The man might get angry if you don't." I said. Please don't do something dumb. His temper seems especially thin.

"B-But…" she still seemed on the edge.

"Raphtalia, I order you to stab the rabbit!" Her slave crest glowed and she wailed. I dropped to her side and used a bit of force to get her kneeling. The glow faded away.

"I need you to stab it because I can't! I have to fight the waves but I can't do it. But I have to fight them because I'm the Shield hero. You two can.

"I know you two lost your parents in the wave. So help me. Help me stop that from happening again to someone else. I can't bring back your parents, but we might be able to save someone else's."

I blinked. Well damn, if that's not motivation then I don't know what is. I pulled Raph to her feet and she gripped her knife. I made sure to keep my hands away from mine. "Alright, I'll-"

Before I finished my sentence, Raphtalia stepped forward and sank her knife straight into the rabbit. It squealed as she wrenched her blade up and out the side of the rabbit. Our master dropped the rabbit which let out a few last gurgles, then died. I saw Raphtalia's level jump up. Her breathing was laboured and the blood of the Rabbit was spread across her clothes.

"Raphtalia?"

She looked at me then turned her gaze back to our master. "I'll fight the waves." For the first time in two years, I saw determination in her eyes rather than fear. Her grip on the knife was tight, her body seemingly ready for any situation.

She sheathed her knife and our master skinned the mangled corpse of the rabbit then took some flesh and tucked it away. Raphtalia now stood upright. I put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. She looked back at me with not sad, but emblazened eyes.

It seems he sparked something in her.

* * *

Later in the day, Me and Raphtalia waited outside a store as our Master sold balloon scraps and other things. I noticed a group of kids playing with a ball. I gave Raphtalia a nudge and watched as they tossed it around. One of the boys tossed it up and bumped it with his head to another boy. He then punted it up and it soared into the air, nearly topping the buildings. It fell back down and into the hands of a girl. She tossed it up and kicked it back with her heel.

They continued practicing tricks and showing off to each other. Our Master's gruff tone made me jump out of my skin.

"Do you two want a ball?" I whirled around and faced our master. Raphtalia did too. We shook our heads. He glanced behind us. He let out a sigh and walked past us to the stall behind the kids that were playing.

As he bought a ball I thought about his motives again. Why is he buying us things? I understand he wants fighters, but there's got to be something more. If he wanted good fighters, why not the snake beastman which laid next to us? He was cheaper and probably could fight better.

I whisked the thought away as he handed us a ball. I squished it in my hands and it bounced back. I then tossed it to Raphtalia. She threw it up and caught it with her hands. She let out a small giggle.

"Alright, you two can share and play with it when we're done working. But only after everything is done."

We both nodded. After a few more hours of bumbling around the city, selling things, we stopped by at an inn. He led us to a room and gave us one bed and took the other. I noticed it wasn't yet dark outside. I nudged Raphtalia.

"Do you want to go play with the ball?" She nodded but pointed to our master. "I'll ask him," I said.

I gave Raphtalia the ball then rolled over the bed to our Master's side.

"Uh… can me and Raphtalia play with t-the ball outside?" I faced down but glanced up as I heard a sigh. He was looking out the window.

"Sure."

I rolled back over my bed and went to Raphtalia. "We can go." She grinned.

We excitedly rushed out of the room, down the steps and into the street.

Raphtalia went first and tossed it at me. I caught it with my hands and bounced it back to her. We played with the ball for a few minutes, then I saw the kids from before approaching down the street. Raphtalia gave them a friendly wave. I saw them snicker.

"Hey, Demihumans! How does it feel to be all dirty all the time!" One of the boys called out. Raphtalia's ears flattened against her head and she recoiled. The other kids laughed. I scowled and put the ball under my arm.

"It's better than being you, noodle-arm." I shot back. He flushed and the other kids laughed again. To be fair, he was a scrawny kid, no older than me or Raphtalia.

"Give us your ball. Your kind doesn't deserve one." He spat at the ground in front of me. Oh well. He was asking for it.

"Want it? Come and take it." He walked up in front of me. I puffed out my chest.

"I have a problem with hitting girls, so let's make it easy and give me the ball." He grabbed for the ball, but I passed it around my back to the other hand. Nope, not yours, your grubby hands aren't gonna get it. I grinned.

"You may have a problem hitting me, but I don't have a problem hitting you." I dropped the ball and punched him right in the nose. He stumbled back and then fell on his knees.

"W-What!?"

I snickered. "Well, it is our ball, and also I don't think "sharing is caring" extends to bullies. Oh, wait, that might be the wrong term. How about _your kind_?" I laughed as the other children let out an "Ooooooh…"

His nostrils flared up and he stood back up. Raphtalia had grabbed the ball by now and was by the door to the inn. The boy charged me. I ducked to the side and he tumbled to the ground.

"Ah, I don't remember bulls falling down like that." I laughed. Raphtalia made a gesture for me to get inside the inn. Nah. I'm having way too much fun here.

He charged at me again. This time after I darted away I tripped him. He ate the stone pavement. The other kids were holding their bellies and doubling over. The street was filled with hoots and laughter.

"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, LITTLE GIRL!"

This time he ran at me with fury. I wasn't able to sidestep him as he grabbed my arm. I got pulled to the ground by him. We grappled and I dodged the punches he was trying to give me. I noticed the other kids were gathered around and chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Faintly, I heard my name being yelled as I flipped him over and elbowed him. He stayed down for a second and I stood up and walked to the edge of the circle the kids had formed.

This… this isn't that bad. It's glorio-

Suddenly, I started feeling woozy. Then I hit the pavement.

**A/N: Well I guess this is the fun of being a pantser. I'm not sure where that brutal ending fight came from. But it did happen. As for what comes next, that i probably have figured out.**

**I'm sorry for updating late constantly. I… don't have an excuse here. I still apologize anyway. I should stick to the promises I make, so that's on me.**

**As for the story itself, I have a question. Do you prefer my writing like last chapter or like this one? I am hyper editing this one to make it more descriptive. I want to know what you all think of it.**


	4. Ah Yes, More Memories

**A/N: I'm baaaack! More Ariete things! More lolitalia being adorable! More child gladiators! More- wait that last one didn't sound right.**

**Haha. I'm having fun here. **

**Another thing, if you check out the fic…**

**We have a cover! Illustrated by the great Mego from the Shield Hero Discord (from which I am now banned cause of unrelated reasons) **

**Check out their deviantart profile at dark1worlds.**

**Dorian was milder than I had expected to be honest. Just a few gusts and some rain. Pray for the Bahamas, but it didn't live up to the scare here in Florida.**

**Enjoyyy!**

I awoke to clattering cups and a curse. I opened my eyes. My master was holding his foot and a tray and some empty cups and plates were on the floor.

"Ehhh?" I said.

He looked over to me.

"Oh, you're awake. I was wondering how long you'd be out."

"What?"

He picked up the dinnerware and continued. "Some kid hit you in the back if the head with a pan. Your sister got him in the family jewels with her boot." He winced as his eyebrows furrowed.

Wait… Raphtalia kicked a boy in the-

"Ariete!?" Raphtalia's voice called out. By the door, she stood. Her eyes were wide open.

She dove on top of me and did what I can only describe as a rock-crushing hug. "Oi! Oi! I can't breathe!"

She didn't let up.

She didn't loosen her grip for a while. Is this how I die? Death by hugging? I started making choking noises. She let out an "eep!" and let go.

I coughed as air returned into my lungs.

"So, What's this about you kicking a boy?"

She flushed. "Well… he… uh… he hit you!"

I nodded. "And you kicked him in the nethers?"

Her blush deepened. "Well, I- uh… he…." I laughed as she tried to come up with a good selfless reasoning behind it.

"It's okay, Raphtalia. You did it to protect someone, that someone being me, and that's all the justification you need."

She nodded and I took her hand. I smiled at her. She replied with her own.

.

"Alright, time to go to the fields again." Our master tugged on his earlobe in embarrassment as he looked away from the two of us. I do guess two adorable girls together can make even a scarred man like him blush. His lips were in a flat line.

-xXx-

The fields were less intimidating now, and Raphtalia wasn't scared of them anymore. We encountered only a few balloons and one usapiru during our trip. Our master kept going through the forest until the trees and ground broke, giving way to open air. He looked over the cliffside at a small town. On one side, there was a rocky plain with a shed by a large outcrop.

When we entered the town it was deserted and bare, unlike the bustling city we had gotten used to. There were only two market stalls, one of which had a skinny man asleep on a stool, face on the table.

I tapped Raphtalia on the shoulder and motioned for us to wait by a wall. Our Master went to a stall meanwhile I confronted Raphtalia.

When we got to the wall, I started looking Raphtalia over. "He didn't hurt you or anything, right? I swear if he laid a finger on you, I'll tear off his arms."

"Uh…" Raphtalia looked at me half in fear and half impressed. "He didn't do anything, Ariete."

"Are you sure?" I rolled up her sleeves and checked her arms. They were fine. I checked on her neck and ran my hand across her back. Nothing other than scars. I checked her face.

"He didn't touch you in weird places or anything right? He didn't-"

"Ariete, he didn't do anything. Stop worrying. He's a good man." Raphtalia said. I stared at her.

"Sorry, my hearing must be off. Did you just say our Master is a good man?" She looked at me as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

"Haven't you seen what he's done? He's given us food, a toy, and freedom. We're cleaner, wearing real clothes and having a life!"

"Freedom!? He's our owner! Raphtalia, I know you're naive, you're like my little sister, but I thought you at least had common sense! Just because he's done one or two nice things doesn't mean he doesn't have worse intentions for us!" I mentally kicked myself. Of course. I should've told Raphtalia my suspicions earlier, she still has that innocence of our time in the village.

"Ariete, you need to trust him. He's not like the others. You heard him yesterday."

I let out a bitter chuckle. "That's what I told myself when the slim man started feeding us and giving us so-called 'toys'" She flinched. "Plus, what if he planned to say that? I bet he's not even the Shield Hero, he's just a guy who can't grasp how to use a sword so he has us do the killing for him." I sighed. I knew I should've told Raphtalia this earlier, but the man was standing right in front of us the whole way to town.

"But-"

"He's coming. Think about what I said." I returned to leaning against the wall next to Raphtalia. Our Master approached us.

"Ready to go?" He said. I nodded for the both of us.

He led us to a shed near the rocky outcrop I saw from the cliff. It turned out to be a mine. He handed me a lantern and grabbed a pickaxe. Also, he brought some rope to his shield. Fascination filled me as it glowed, then disappeared into dust, which went into the gem of his shield. It transformed into a loop of rope around a buckler, the center of which was a small green gemstone.

Raphtalia pulled me outside the shed. "See!? He is the Shield Hero!"

I tightened my grip on the lantern in my hand. Raphtalia was really frustrating today. "It could be magic or enchantment. All I know is that our parents told us the Shield Hero was a nice, caring man to demi-humans and our advocate. Said Shield Hero would never buy us as slaves!"

"He is nice and caring! You just ignore it!"

I put my face in my hand. She latched onto him like royalty to their thrones. "Would a nice and caring man own us as slaves and mislead you?"

"I'm not misled!"

I heard a knock. I whipped around. Our Master looked at us. "Is there a problem?"

We shook our heads. He nodded. "Let's go into the cave, then."

He held the lantern I had lit. I used a fingertip as a candle. The cave was dark, and my boots made splashing noises against the floor. Eventually, it opened up into a large aquifer. A ravine ran down the center, a river running through it. Spiky stalagmites reached down from the ceiling, dripping water every so often. A few more narrow passages branched out on the other side of the ravine. Blue ores twinkled along the walls.

"Wow…" Raphtalia looked up in wonder. It looked as if someone had copied a piece of the night sky into the cavern.

Our Master looked with us, but he broke his gaze away early and went to a glowing chunk near the floor of the cavern. The clang of the pickaxe against the rock rang loud and clear. I watched as he cut the glistening crystal from its rocky prison. It was freed, and he picked it up and studied it. It was like a mirror, I could see my face, tinted blue.

"Raphtalia! Come look!" I waved. No response. "Raphtalia?"

I looked behind me, where Raphtalia had a terrified look. The same one she has whenever she drifts off to sleep and the nightmares we share entangle us with fear.

I followed her eyes to a two-headed dog. Its eyes bored holes into my skull and I heard a bloodcurdling scream, followed by another. The first was mine.

Images of my mother and father flashed before me. It killed them.

Its eyes were trained on Raphtalia, drool dripping from its mouth. No. I'm not letting you take another from me. Not a single one more.

When it leaped across the ravine, I started covering the distance to Raphtalia. Even at my fastest sprint, two strokes of its legs brought it right in front of us. I resorted to a falling shove, using my entire weight to push Raphtalia to the side. The dog caught my hair, and pulled me upwards. I cried out as I felt my scalp scream to my brain, "What the hell are you doing!?"

Memories started to flood my brain. Mother giving us little cakes and tea, playing with the others around town, and then the day it came.

I clenched my open hand into a fist, gritted my teeth and bent my body. I planted my leg firmly on the dog's snout and pushed. I ignored the loud protests from my head as hair started to pull away. I bent my ankle and shoved my foot into the dog's nostril. It opened its mouth to roar and I pushed with my leg away from its mouth.

It roared so loud, my skull shook. I began chanting as I flipped through the air.

"I am the one who controls the power of the flames, let me summon them now to destroy my target! Zveite Fireball!"

A ball, similar in size to the one our Master had given us appeared in my hands. It was made of flames rather than balloon skin. Even with the shielding on my hands, I felt it singe my palms.

"Haaaaaaa!"

I flung the ball at the second head. It hot, bursting into a shower of fire. Both heads roared.

As I flipped through the air once again, a brown shape caught my eye.

"RAPHTALIA!"

Time seemed to slow as I fell through the air. Raphtalia was flying through the cave, crimson red splattered against her clothes. A trail of blood followed her.

The moment the ground was in reach of my legs, I wrenched myself forwards, catching Raphtalia and sliding across the stone floor.

Warmth trickled onto my cloak as she settled in my arms, limp. Her face was twisted up in pain.

I opened up her shirt. A ring of cuts centered around her side. I took off my cloak and wrapped it tightly around the bleeding flesh. Nearly immediately, it was soaked through.

"Raphtalia! Raphtalia!"

I gently tapped her cheek. Her eyes slowly opened, barely letting in light.

"Look at me, okay? Look at me. You are going to be okay. You are going to heal. You-" I couldn't finish. A voice from every part of my body screamed at me.

You failed.

I shook my head, and wiped my tears. I picked up Raphtalia in my arms and started to run. I heard the pounding of paws behind me, and tried to move my legs faster than the top speed they were at.

I could feel the warm breath of the dog behind me, but then I heard a crack.

I quickly glanced over my shoulder. A translucent green shield blocked the dog's path. The feral beast chomped at it, pure hatred and greed filling its eyes as it looked towards me and Raphtalia.

I realised as I slid to a stop we were on the wrong side of the ravine. The exit laid across an eight to ten foot canyon.

I turned around. The dog had caught up, one of its heads mangled and burnt from my fireball. Drool streamed down from its muzzle.

Suddenly, our master slid in from the side, holding up his shield.

"Run!" he yelled. I looked down into the ravine.

Yes, I would if I could.

Cornered, I felt dread creep up my spine. This situation was bad, and it could only get much, much worse.

**A/N: I've been hooked on Demon Slayer in the past weeks. Nezuko is the best imouto.**

**Secondly, a little update on my life. I've been slowly improving myself (I hope) and have stopped complaining without doing anything. If I'm lucky, I'm on the right track. Next is getting my life back in order.**

**Another thing, I've decided to stray from canon with the magic system such that it is more uniform. In canon, use of chants, magic levels and mana are rarely if at all explained. Therefore, I'm taking the system of Shield hero and combining it with a magic system which while not concrete, is consistent. It's the system from Youjo Senki, or The Saga of Tanya the Evil. Its system of magical formulas and mana exhaustion makes sense to me, so I'll be combining it with Shield Hero's to hopefully make a better one. It'll come out as the story is written. **

**Thinking back on it… didn't dragon pulse magic work with formulas also? Ah, well it can be fixed later.**

**And obviously…**

**Sorry for a two month delay between chapters. I've been really busy juggling school, family and other things as well as trying to keep a healthy social sphere.**

**I couldn't come up with an Omake for this chapter, but some of you may have seen…**

**I have a new angsty and sad one-shot on my page now! Woo! I guess that can substitute for now.**

**Until next chapter, Bye-Bye!**


	5. Left Behind

**A/N: Back Again! Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I didn't want it to run on too long. Also sorry for the delay. **

**Of course, the wave is coming. And with us nearing the second to last peak of the arc, there's about to be a whole load of drama. Angsty, fluffy, character developmenty goodness. And obviously, a little more drip-fed backstory for our first-time readers.**

**I swear there will be fluff soon. Eventually. **

**On with the fic!**

I cradled Raphtalia in my arms, her short, rapid breaths and scrunched up face practically screaming at me to find a doctor.

If I could, I would.

Slowly, little thoughts bubbled to the surface of my flooded mind.

_You're supposed to protect her._

_You're pretty much her older sister._

_You failed._

As these thoughts pinged around my head, I heard a yell.

"Ariete! Get out your dagger and help!" His knees started to buckle as the dog forced him down. I looked between him and Raphtalia. She seemed at peace in my arms, even if her blood was filling up my cloak like a leather flask. I couldn't bring myself to disturb her.

"Why should I help?! If you're the Shield Hero, then why the _hell _should I protect you when you can't even protect Raphtalia!" I screamed at him, tears pricking at my eyes.

The flame of kindness inside his eyes seemed to flicker, then vanish.

"Ariete…" He ground out. "I _order _you to fight this dog." His voice came out in a disturbingly flat tone, even with the jaw of a dog clamped on his shoulder, his voice didn't waver a single inch.

I hissed as a jolt of pain fired through my chest. I once again looked between Raphtalia and Master. His knees buckled further.

A little thought in the back of my mind told me to help him, it prodded me further. _At least he's trying, somewhat. _I looked at the blood spilling forth from his shoulder, then made my decision.

"I'll be back in just a mo' Raphtalia."

I laid her onto the stone and stood.

"Faust Fire." I summoned a small flame on my finger, while my hand pulled Raphtalia's knife from it's sheath.

With a spurt from my legs, I darted forward, sliding underneath the dog and through it's forelegs. I stabbed my knife into the exposed belly and used my arms to wrench it across the fur. Blood spilled onto my arms, and covered my face. I slipped the knife out of the now roaring cerberus.

It whipped around and the head missing an eye tried to chomp on me, but I ducked left and slit the throat. The flame I summoned earlier intensified as I poured some Mana into it, then held it to the fur. It ignited, but the dog shook and it went out quickly.

The other head turned and sunk its teeth into my leg. I didn't let the pain shock me, and returned the favor by stabbing it through the bottom of the maw. The tip poked out of the top of the head, and I couldn't wrench the knife out. I left it and ran, removing the teeth from my leg.

The mangled, barely still alive dog monster stumbled back, it was bleeding from everywhere and it's guts had spilled onto the ground.

Master seemed too shocked at the gore to respond, so I walked up to the body. It hurt her. It killed my parents. So, then why not end it?

I stomped on the head which still had a knife embedded in it, driving the knife straight through and letting me grab it once more, now covered in blood and gore. I shoved my hand into the slit in its belly, and felt a faint pulsing. I took aim, then pushed my knife in. It sank like it was going through softened butter.

The pulsing was replaced with a dull flow, and then nothing.

I withdrew my knife and my arm, and walked back over to Raphtalia, where Naofumi was cradling her. I looked at him.

For once, his stoic demeanor broke, and a tear left his eye. He picked her up, and then faced me, silently telling me she was going to be okay, at all costs.

I rushed over and took her back into my arms. Our master absorbed a bit of the dog into his shield and then came back.

He pried a plank off of a support for the mineshaft, and then used it to bridge the ravine.

I walked over it and sped-walked to the exit, but then my right leg buckled. Off instinct, I twisted myself so Raphtalia landed on top of me. I groaned as the wound in my leg fried my nerves.

Our master ran over to us, and first picked Raphtalia up off me. He too k a look at my swollen red, bleeding calf. It was a wonder i was able to walk.

I gritted my teeth and tried to lift myself back up. I have to get Raphtalia back out of here. I _have _to.

I tried again, but the sting hurt too much. I started dragging myself along the ground.

"I'll get.. you… home!" I reached out my hand and-

_Blood._

Crimson stained my fingers, my hand and my whole arm. Globs of flesh stuck to my skin and there was a trail of red where my arms had slid across the stone.

Memories of blood in the sand flooded my mind, the metallic smell, the wet feeling as I carved through opponents. People I used to know, people I didn't know, all children in the same boat as me.

My mind floated back to one specific day. The sixth. I'd already understood, fight or die, fight and you'll survive. I wanted to survive all right, otherwise Raphtalia would be left alone. As alone as I was right then.

I walked out into the sun, adults cheering as the newly named "champion" of the arena entered their view. I looked towards the person who would be my first opponent.

It was a child even younger than me, no more than 5 years. He held his knife awkwardly and trembled so hard you'd think he was naked in a blizzard.

The horn sounded and he ran forward, letting out a high pitched war cry. The move was pathetically under-skilled. He was too young, too innocent for this. To be fair, so was I, but at least I knew how to add and subtract!

I dodged it and twisted the knife out of his hands. It flew, landing in the sand. He looked me in the eye, his face in complete terror, begging me for mercy.

I glanced at my master in the booth. His bony fingers ran against his neck.

I understood.

The boy slumped to the ground, a dagger in his chest. The life in his eyes fled.

He fell backwards, the dagger going with him. Cheers came from the crowd and the referee came down and raised my hand in victory.

Victory never tastes more bitter than when it floats atop a raft of others.

Faces went by my eyes, each and every one begging me, screaming at me for mercy. And one by one, I saw their lives end. At my hands. At the hands I looked at now, stained in not only a monster's blood, but also the blood of so, so many.

It dripped off my fingers, and stained my clothes. I tried to pry my gaze off them, but it stayed stuck on the vision of crimson dripping from my palms.

And the last face…

I couldn't bring myself to even open my eyes to look at it. I blocked it out. I refused to even acknowledge she ever existed. Seventeen. Seventeen different shades of blood on my hands.

When I snapped out of it, I found myself slung over our Master's shoulder. The slamming of his shoes against the cave floor echoed along the walls. The pickaxe he had was loosely tied to his belt.

We exited the cave, and he continued making a mad dash for the town. Raphtalia was in his arms, my cloak still there, soaked in blood.

When we got into town, he let out a deafening shout.

"Please! Anyone! A doctor! Help!"

I'd never heard such a pleading tone from him, or such a tremble in his voice. He was completely in panic.

Then, the pain in my leg returned, and I whimpered. He looked over at me.

A few villagers exited their homes to look in horror at our two injured bodies.

The merchant who had lent our master a pickaxe came out pushing two carts. He laid Raphtalia on one, and eased me onto the other. He told our master to push me and follow him.

Weakly, I reached out, trying to get to Raphtalia. I have to get to her.

The world went black at that moment, and I faded away.

* * *

A faint laughing came from behind me. I turned to look over my shoulder.

Raphtalia was there, laughing and playing. _Isn't that adorable? _

I grinned myself, and began to walk towards her. As i paced forwards, I noticed the ground between us widening. I sped up, and the ground widened even further.

"Ariete! C'mon! Don't be late!"

She turned and started to scamper away. I ran towards her, but her form became smaller and smaller.

"Raphtalia!" I called out. "Wait up!"

She started to fade away.

"Raphtalia!"

"Don't leave me behind!"

And when she disappeared, I curled up to weep.

**Oof, that was a bit sadder than I thought. I hope this and the chapter coming on Monday will make up for the delay. It's been too long. Happy thanksgiving to those of ya who celebrate it!**

**P.S. that magic system? You'll get a better glance at that next chapter, as well as backstory for those of you who haven't read the original.**

**With such a delay, and a super short chapter, I owe y'all an extra omake too.**

**This one is set before the first wave.**

* * *

Omake: I am not adorable!

I hummed to myself, weaving the grass, lilies and flowers together. The little crown I held forced a bit of warmth into my cheeks. I wasn't usually that into what the other little girls did, but something was soothing about weaving the thin, fragile stalks into a tiara.

I continued my work methodically. This secluded corner of the village never got visitors, usually.

I heard the crunching of a branch. My eyes darted to behind me, where I heard the noise. Setting the crown on the ground, I tuned my ears. There. The soft noise of shoe on dirt. I picked up a pebble and tossed it.

It hit its mark. A yelp came from the bush, and a cloaked figure fell out from the brush. A little femine whimper told me who it was.

"Really, Raphtalia?" I said.

She rubbed a reddened spot on her forehead and gave me a pout. "You didn't have to throw things at me!" she yelled.

"Ah, but it's entertaining, isn't it? After all, no harm done!"

She glared at me. "What do take me for? Some sort of clown?"

I gave her a blank stare. "Maybe."

She let out a little grunt and walked up to me. "What were you doing out here anyway? This is really deep into the forest. Mama might get angry."

"N-Nothing!" I used the side of my foot to slide the flower crown beneath a bush. Raphtalia raised an eyebrow.

"What're you hiding here?"

She started reaching for the flower crown. No, my dignity cannot allow this transgression to occur! I tackled her, and began attacking.

She burst out into a fit of giggles as I tickled her. She tried to squirm away from my grasp, but I clamped on tight.

"Haha- Ariete! Wait! Haha! Stop!" She kept trying to speak in between fits of laughter.

Eventually, she broke free and retreated behind the bush which contained my contraband.

"What's being hidden here?" She crouched down. As a final attempt, I dove at her. She dodged to the side and I landed in a roll. When I got up, she held the flower crown.

Nine seconds have passed.

I broke into a sprint, reaching for the offending item. Raphtalia ducked away, mad with laughter. I made another leap, but she once again dodged.

"Who knew you were so cute?!" She teased, breaking into another fit of giggles.

"I AM NOT CUTE!" I roared and leapt again. It would be a long day...


	6. The Village

**Aaaaaaah I'm so sorry! (extreme japanese apologizing)**

**This chapter ended up taking a bit longer than expected, sorry!**

**We're finally getting to the good parts. Aka, angstfest. **

**P.S. that SGDS chapter is gonna come any day now…**

**This first scene is set before the first wave, back in Rurorona (that's how I've seen it spelled in the LNs) Village.**

The window slammed shut, the breeze that was blowing in now halted. My teacher walked back to his desk.

"Now Ariete, this is a special demonstration here for you. Since you have an affinity with fire magic, you'll do well to learn this." He whispered a quick chant, and a flame summoned at his fingertips, so tiny one could mistake it for a half-blown out candle.

"This is a Faust flame. If I push a bit of mana in, it'll get bigger." The muscles in his arm tightened, and the flame started to resemble an orange.

"However, if I now pull mana from it, it will lessen." His arm slackened, but his eyes furrowed in concentration. The flame became a tiny dot, barely visible as more than a speck floating above his finger.

"Wow!" I said in wonder. I quickly summoned my own flame. "Faust Flame."

I felt a faint flowing feeling from my chest towards my finger. I pushed, trying to force the flow to go faster. Nothing happened.

"Try tightening at the end." He said.

The end? Does he mean my fingertips? I squeezing the flow there. The flow seemed to pool for a second, then began flowing out at a much faster rate.

"Wow!" The flame in my hand grew a bit.

"Now try this time, loosening your core, the walls around your mana," he said.

I reached around inside and tried to relax in my chest. The effect was immediate. The small flame grew to a ball in my hand.

I marveled at the discovery. "And to cut the flow, you know what to do."

I closed the vein letting out my mana and the flame ceased.

We experimented together, trying out different places from which I constricted the flow. It seemed that mana flowing out faster and uncontrolled made the flame larger, physically.

I heard the tolling of a bell, my signal to leave. I dashed to pack my things.

"Bye, Seatto-Sensei!" I called. He waved to me, and I left the mansion.

There were only three of us, studying in the local lord's estate, learning magic and such. The status magic we had told me of my mediocre stores of mana and the supposed exceptional talent I had in shaping and using that mana.

I didn't get what they meant by that, but all I know is I can pick up spells better than the others, even if they can cast theirs over and over again.

It was a short walk back to the village, and I entered my home.

"I'm back!" I called out. There was padding, and from the other room Raphtalia came.

"Ariete! Did you learn anything new?" She collided with my side, nearly toppling me in a hug. Learning magic had given me a few levels, so I was slightly taller than her, no more than a few inches.

"Yeah, dummy. Of course I learned something. Why else would I go there every day?" We giggled.

"So what did you learn?" Mother walked in, a grin and specks of flour on her face.

"Look!"

I gently pushed Raphtalia away and stood in the middle of the room.

"Faust Flame."

The flame burst to life, and I maneuvered it to my palm. I focused on the mana pore, and the flame grew a bit bigger.

Raphtalia leaned in towards me to get a better look. As her face came close to my hand, I pushed out the mana in my core. She yelped as the fire flared up.

"Hey!"

I laughed. "Your fault for getting too close." She gave me a pout which only made me laugh harder.

* * *

After dinner, we sat by the fireplace. Raphtalia sat leaning against my shoulder and I leaned on Father's.

"Daddy, why does Ariete get to go to Seatto-sama's mansion and I don't?" Raphtalia asked.

"Well, Ariete's gifted. She has more magical ability than you. You'll find something non-magical to do, I'm sure." He said.

I thought about his words. "Daddy, does that mean Raphtalia won't ever get to use magic?" I asked. If she couldn't, she'd be missing out on such a… magical experience.

"She could eventually learn, yes. But I think Raphtalia would be happier and better suited to continuing your Mother's line of work as a hunter."

Raphtalia stuck out her tongue at him. "I don't wanna spend all day skinning stinky animals!"

We laughed together.

* * *

Studies went well the next day, and I waited in the hall for my personal lesson.

Each of the four kids Seatto-sensei picked had a 1-hour session with him. Mine was always last so usually, I chatted with the others.

"Ariete, how can you so easily get all this?" Lilika cried in frustration. For a while now she'd been trying to replicate what I had done yesterday. Sparks flew between her hands, but she hadn't been able to refine her mana flow. I could feel magic leaking off her.

"Just focus on the flow of mana. Can you feel it?" I said.

She concentrated for a minute.

"Yeah, I feel it."

"Now where is it coming from?"

"My heart."

"Try relaxing your chest a bit."

She tried this a few times, and on the third, the sparks she was making turned to full arcs of lightning. She cheered.

"Thanks, Ariete!"

Soon, she went in for her lesson and I was left alone.

It wasn't long before I got bored out of my mind. I glanced at the clock.

50 minutes remained.

I walked over to a window and looked out at the forest. There wasn't much to do, other than stare.

I sighed.

Seatto-sensei should make something for us to do. I hate idling. It's a waste of time, literally. He should make us do training.

Training…

I can do training on my own!

"I am one of the chosen mages of Rurorona Village and I command the source of power! Generate a flame! Tsuvait Flame!"

Starting from a spark, a large ball of fire formed in my hand. It was about the size of a large grapefruit, and bright enough to make a warm glow clash with the sunlight along the walls.

I condensed it, using some spare mana to compress the flame. It grew hot in my hand as wisps of heat singed my palm. Dammit, I forgot to put up my shielding. Faust flames usually can't harm their user in any way, but other magic flames can harm the user if they don't coat their hand in a cheap but useful covering.

I put up the covering, cursing under my breath as the lingering heat still burned. I continued condensing the flame until it became a solid ball of heat.

"Alright, now a target…"

I decided against the forest since the fire could spread to the mansion. The mansion itself was out of the question. I looked for a lake along the hall, but there wasn't one. Ah, too bad I'll have to hold back a bit.

I constricted the mana flow and the ball shrunk. If I toss it into the air, it should fizzle out before reaching anything.

I leaned out the window, checking for anything that could get hit by my ball. Nothing.

I wound up and threw it with all of my power. After 5 seconds of flying, I released the magic barrier I had contained it in.

I watched as the small ball erupted, growing into a mini-inferno above the forest, continuing its flight. I worried for a moment it would strike the trees, but it soared upwards.

It began to flicker and soon began shrinking. I sighed in satisfaction. That was a good one, even if I felt a little tired.

I checked the time again.

I'd only passed 20 minutes.

I groaned.

Why couldn't time just pass faster? It's hell waiting for my turn.

I glanced back outside with a pout.

Oh.

_Oh no._

I dashed for the classroom door, which slammed open before i got there.

"Seatto-sensei! What's going on? Please tell me it wasn't to-"

"Ariete. Grab your family and run. Now."

His flat tone shocked me, but I understood and ran.

My legs pumped harder as the purple sky swirled with portals. Hearing awful laughter, I ducked into a bush. A group of goblins ran past in full armor.

"I hear a human's breath." One of them said.

I covered my mouth. They can smell humans?

I heard sniffing, and a bit of rustling. A grotesque, green face popped through.

"Hiya, girlie!" He laughed, his foul breath violating my nostrils.

I threw a punch, but the only thing it did was create a dull ache in my knuckles. I bolted from the bush, running in the forest parallel to the road. Loud cracks and grunts came from behind me. They seemed to be breaking everything I passed over, and they weren't far from breaking me too. I decided to take a risk.

"I am one of the chosen mages of Rururona village and I am the one who controls the power. Summon a flame to disperse these beings! Tsuvait Flame!" As soon as the fire formed, I pumped it full with mana. The goblins seemed to be making too much of a racket of their own to notice my chant or my fireball.

The fireball grew to the point i had to support it with both of my hands. I held it until I saw a ray of light break through the trees.

"Take this, you monsters!" I yelled. I twisted and threw the ball, releasing the barrier as soon as it left my hands. Then I leapt from the forest.

I made it out, a puff of smoke coming from behind me. Smoke rose from the trees, but I didn't look back. Instead I looked at the horrors in front of me.

A cerberus was feasting on _my people. My friends._

I had no mana I could use left without rendering myself immovable. I picked up a hatchet from the shed nearby.

As the cerberus closed in on a little boy, I ran up and lodged the axe into the space between it's necks. It roared. I wrenched the axe out, and nearly puked as a flood of putrid blood came spilling forth, splashing on me and the boy. He screamed.

"Get out of here!" I yelled. I put the hatchet into its leg and ran again.

Finally, I saw Raphtalia and my parents. After sprinting for so long, I stopped to rest for a moment by collapsing against the doorway.

"Seatto-sensei said to run. Now." I gasped for air, and stood. Raphtalia seemed terrified.

"Raphtalia, come on!"

She seemed to snap out of her fear at my voice, but then screamed again at the blood on my shirt. So did Mother.

"Ariete, what happened to you!?" Mom asked.

"There was a Cerberus. We need to go before it catches up."

She nodded. My father came out, his hair looking disheveled.

We ran to the edge of town, but were confronted on monsters on all sides. The townsfolk that hadn't been lucky enough to escape were all gathered on this final ledge.

The cerberus from before made booming steps towards us, and finally scooped up three adults between it's heads.

Raphtalia looked in silent terror.

I was shocked.

The adults tried to fend it off, but soon they were gobbled up in a horrific feast for the monsters.

I heard a yell from my left. A kid had been pushed off the cliff behind us. The kids used to dive here all the time.

"Quick, get the kids into the sea! The monsters can't get them there!" Someone yelled.

Soon the kids were being shoved off en masse. A few tried to cling on, but the rocks gave way.

I looked at my parents. They looked at me with sad, despairing eyes.

"We're sorry."

I screamed as they pushed me off. As I fell, I managed to get a hold of the cliff.

I pulled my head up so I could look.

And they had been eaten.

I fell.

**A/N: I thought it was necessary to spend a whole chapter kind of detailing Ariete's life in the village. I didn't gloss over it like in the original Twinning this time.**

**I also took the time to really flesh out this new magic system I've been working on. I felt it made more sense to have mana "pathways" than just controlling the spell through chant and instinct. I like how it turned out, since combat's gonna be fun later.**

**And of course since it's an even chapter, an Omake! Set before the last one.**

Omake: Ticklish? Never.

I had grossly miscalculated. A very, very large mistake.

This would cost me my dignity, and maybe even my life.

Please stop being so determined, Raphtalia.

"Open the door Ariete!" She shouted.

"Never! Not until you stop trying to tickle me!"

"I will never give up!"

I yelped in fear as she banged on the door.

"Seatto-sensei will get mad if you break that door!" I yelled. She pounded harder.

There was a window.

"Fine, I'll open the door on one condition."

"Really? What?" I could hear the smile through the door.

"Back away from the door, and wait ten seconds."

Fitting with her naïveté, I heard footsteps.

"1… 2… 3…" she started to count.

I dashed to the windows searching for a latch. There wasn't one. I turned around.

"5..."

I checked the next window, panic filling my stomach.

"6..."

Nothing. I crawled into the fireplace and looked up. The walls were covered with soot, but I could climb.

"8…"

I shuffled in, and began climbing with my arms to one side and my legs to the other.

"10! I'm coming!"

I heard the door slam open. I tried to be as quiet as I could.

"Where'd she go?"

I took another step up.

"What was that noise?"

Uh-oh.

"There's handprints in the soot."

I have to move, quick! I started scaling the wall as fast as I could, ignoring the ash building on my clothes and limbs.

Before I could get halfway up, she poked her head in.

"Ariete! Why are you trying to climb the fireplace!?"

"You shall never catch me alive!"

I tried to take another step, but my foot slipped.

"Aaaaaah!" I yelled as I fell down the chimney, landing and causing a cloud of soot to blow out of the fireplace, coving Raphtalia in grey ash.

"Oh you are so going to get it!" She yelled.

This is bad. Really bad.

**And thus ends this sixth chronicle! I'll have the next chapter up hopefully before christmas!**


	7. Being Hit on Isn't Fun

**I seem to be on a roll with these chapters, finally updating this story somewhat regularly. Even though this chapter is a few days (read: nearly 3 weeks) late.**

**I'm gonna try and take these chapters more slowly as we go, since I really want to get into Ariete's head. I also forgot Ariete had a tail. And ears.**

**Oh and, guess who's depressed again! Yours truly! Expect more updates soon, since it seems sadness somehow fuels my writing a bunch. Yes, this is really negative, no I am not sorry.**

I awoke to morning light, seeping through the window and blinding me. I reached up to cover my eyes and winced as a jolt of pain rushed through my side.

Ah, yeah. The dog. I probably shouldn't have another brawling rage like that again. I kind of… gored it to death.

I craned my neck to look to my side. Master was asleep in a chair to my left. Huh, was he watching over us?

I turned to look to my other side, where my breath hitched.

"Raph… tal...ia!" I called out with a rasp. Her features were pale, and she was covered in bandages nearly head to toe.

I reached out, and then realized we were on separate beds.

"Oof!" I made a thud as my body slammed into the floorboards. I heard the squeak of a chair.

"Ariete!" I heard Master speak in a half worried, half scolding tone. I whimpered as the force from the fall agitated the gash in my side.

He lifted me up and set me back on the bed, shaking his head. "What were you trying to do?" He asked angrily.

"How's Raphtalia?" I retorted.

He glanced behind himself to look at her. "The doctor said she'll be up in two days. You'll be standing on crutches tomorrow."

I must've broken a bone. I looked at my leg where it was bandaged and splinted and also swollen beyond recognition. I sunk back into the sheets and sighed.

"And the wave?" I asked.

"12 days."

I cursed internally. If this man was to force us to fight the wave in 12 days, we'd be shredded.

I decided being pessimistic about it wouldn't do any good. What could I do to get out of this situation? The golden question.

Even if this master shows hints of good, I still can't find it in me to trust him. After all, wouldn't a true hero be able to protect Raphtalia?

I'd have to talk to her as soon as she woke up. That's the only way I can salvage our lives.

-xXx-

It had been a day and a half until Raphtalia finally woke up. I was on crutches, attempting to walk back to bed when I heard a small shriek. I stumbled in, and found Raphtalia on the floor, thrashing against the blanket entangling her. I moved over and pulled the covers off.

"Raphtalia? You ok?" I asked. She had a slightly fearful expression, but it disappeared when she saw my face.

The sadness returned as her eyes wandered to my leg. "Ariete! What did you do!?"

She stood, and pushed me with surprising strength back onto my bed. "What is this! how did you break a leg!?"

"Erm… I kind of... tried to avenge you?" I said sheepishly.

She flicked me in the forehead, a sharp sting ringing across the skin. "Ow!"

"Dummy! You could have trusted Naofumi-sama with it!"

"N-Naofumi? You mean…"

Shit. When had this happened!? Since when had she learned our master's name? And why was she using it?!

"Shush! Are you trying to earn us a beating?" I pulled her down. "You know masters don't let us use their names."

"Naofumi-sama told me to use it!"

"No way!" Impossible.

"STOP BEING SO LOUD!" Master's voice boomed through the doorway. We both made an "Eep!" of fear. I turned my head to look away, and Raphtalia faced downwards. I waited for the slap.

Instead, I was greeted by a warm feeling on my head. I looked up to find a hand right between my ears.

"I know you two are excited about being back together, but quiet down."

I felt my tail swish in tune with the confusion in my mind. He… he was giving us… a headpat? Like…

I shook my head to get rid of the thought. No, comparing this man and my father is a disgrace to my family. I don't know what he's getting at, but it can't be good.

-xXx-

A day and one bitter potion later my leg had healed mostly, and I was testing out my capabilities while my leg was still bad. I still had to keep most of my weight on my left leg, but otherwise, my right worked fine. Raphtalia's injuries were just flesh wounds and none of her organs were damaged, so she was up too.

We threw ourselves at the battles with monsters to get stronger. I had to be capable enough to protect myself, and Raphtalia. I pushed my mana reserves to their absolute limit, and with shaky hands, once our master was asleep and Raphtalia was looking away, trained my knife skills on the bark of a very unfortunate tree.

The day before the wave, we traveled back to the capital. Raphtalia had leveled a bit more than me and was a bit taller. She was also annoyingly optimistic.

"C'mon Naofumi-sama! The store's just up there!" She called. Despite her grown looks, she still acted like her child self. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, waving her off.

We entered the store, the shopkeep recognizing us. "Hey there, shield boy! And you two girls have grown up well."

Master raised an eyebrow at that and glanced at me and Raphtalia. "Really?"

He shook his head. "We're here to get new wea-"

"No, Naofumi-sama. We're here to get you new armor." Raphtalia chirped in. I decided trying to fight her on this, now, would tire my brain out too much. She'd gotten my brand of stubbornness, and I realised why everyone at home called me "unladylike" whenever I'd spoken.

Unladylike was code for very, very annoying, it seems. I couldn't ever hate Raphtalia, but she was getting very close to falling off that edge.

"What do you mean armor? I have my shield." He said.

"Naofumi-sama!" she scolded. "You got injured yesterday by those raccoons! You need armor."

I let out a snicker as the visions of Master laughing at me tripping, then being interrupted by a porcupine to the face came back to me. Strangely still, I felt bad for the guy and helped him out a bit.

Raphtalia ended up pressuring Naofumi into buying a set of custom-made armor from Erhard, the shopkeep, and also a magic iron sword for herself. He also grabbed me some leather gloves and a new dagger. My old one had a few chips and had gotten dull from my practice on the bark. He warned me to stay back in the upcoming fight and use only my magic.

Of course, I'd do so with Raphtalia also behind me.

We left the shop after paying, promising to come back tomorrow to test fit the armor just before the wave. We had a small meal and then travelled off to what looked like a church. Our master scowled at the crest of the three weapon crest atop the entrance.

Not a fan? Well there's one of very few things we have in common.

We continued further, following a nun towards some destination I couldn't bother hearing and remembering the name of. We arrived in a room with a large, ornate hourglass floating. I felt tingles of magic coming from the reddish orbs on the hourglass, probably what was suspending the thing.

Our master held up his shield, and a beam of light stretched from it to the center of the hourglass. I could see numbers flash across his eyes.

"Hey, look! It's Scummy Naofumi!"

I turned around to see a blonde haired man, surrounded by three girls and had a large spear slung on his back. He had a smugness to his aura that gave me chills.

Our master clenched his jaw in a scowl I hadn't seen so hateful since we first met him.

"So you're still fighting in that junk?" He went up and gave a soft punch to master's shoulder. It threw him back a few steps and he let out a grunt.

On one hand, I didn't mind seeing one of my _terrible wastes of air and food- _masters being a bit roughed up. Still, I felt a need to protect my master.

"Hey, what do you want?" I stepped in between the two and faced the spearman.

I heard what I swore to be a delicate moan from the man's mouth before he launched into an animated introduction.

"Hey, Motoyasu Kitamura! Nice to meet you, I'm the spear hero! I'm smart, charming, and the best of the four heroes! What's your name, gorgeous?" He said while waving his hands around, striking random poses and winking incessantly.

Pause.

Double Pause.

Was…

Was I just hit on?

While I processed the very idea that someone could, and would, ask me out, he stepped forwards and placed a hand on my cheek and the other one reaching to stroke _my god damn tail._

It took less than half an instant for me to boot him to the ground and place a knife's edge between his legs.

"If you wish to have a chance of continuing your bloodline, and I swear to this land I will end it if I have to, then you will _never _touch me again." I gave a smile I hoped looked crazy. Better crazy than creepily loved by whatever this man is.

It seemed to work as his eyes widened and sweat started to bead on his forehead.

"W-Wow… kind of a top, aren't you?"

I didn't really understand the meaning, but by the death glare my master shot at him, it must've been something not exactly family-friendly.

I twitched my wrist, and heard cloth fibers giving way to my blade. A squeak came from the man below me, and he scampered away. I let out a giggle as the once arrogant man crawled to his companions.

I turned back to stand with Raphtalia and my master.

I almost stumbled as I saw the look of pure hatred in my master's face. As if he was possessed by the amalgamation of hate itself, directed at the blonde haired man who had tried to flirt with me.

He stomped towards the exit, Raphtalia and I following suit.

As we passed another blonde and a blue-haired kid, they said "Don't hold us back."

When we came out of the building itself and into open air, I asked our master a question. "What did you do to earn the hate of all the other heroes?"

His teeth clenched, and his hands balled into fists. He glared at me, rivaling the stare of the cerberus we fought a few days ago. "_We don't speak about it._" He ground out.

I retreated, putting a good distance between us and dragging Raphtalia with me.

Danger. That's what I felt from him. At that moment, I made my decision.

We have to escape.

**A/N: I honestly hate that I keep making promises I can't keep, yet here I am. I promise, promise, promise, I will get the next chapter out soon. Soon-ish.**

**Well, see ya next time!**


	8. The Rift

The day after the confrontation in the church, we first went to Erhard's shop. He presented our Master with a set of armour he proudly called "The Barbarian's set."

"You know I'm supposed to be a hero, right?" He complained. Raphtalia's eyes were positively sparkling. Her tail wagged in tune with the twitching of her ears. I couldn't help but melt at the adorable sight.

I stepped behind her and wrapped her in a hug. "You're too cute for your own good." I cooed.

"What do you think about Naofumi's armour, Ariete?" she asked.

It took every ounce within me not to scowl. "It's fine, I guess."

She pouted. As master and Erhard got distracted in discussing the wave, Raphtalia pulled me out of earshot.

"What is it that you have against Naofumi-sama?"

I scoffed. "Everything. He obviously can't be good. Look at the other heroes. As flawed as they may be, they regard him with the same disgust as the public. He cannot fight for himself because he is weak, so he gets us two children to do it. What exactly is good about him?"

"He's misunderstood." She said,

"Raphtalia, you can't keep acting foolish like this and thinking that-"

"You cannot call me a fool, Ariete!" She yelled. "I'm sick and tired of you treating me as if I know nothing! We are twins. We have experienced the same things, have seen the same things and gone through the same pains. We are here together." She paused.

"He helped me heal. Let him help you."

I shook my head. "Don't let him blind you with-"

"You have to understand, Ariete." She said as she turned away from me.

"I thought you did."

She left me there to bathe in her words. It was a moment before they registered in my mind.

"Raphtalia, wait!"

I rounded the corner. She was walking with our Master.

For the first time, I felt her pulling away from me.

-xXx-

According to Master, the countdown to the wave was 10 minutes. He checked all of our equipment, and told us to make any preparations we needed to. I ensured my dagger was in its sheath, and prodded my mana reserves. They seemed full, so I let them be. Master was fixing his harmor, making sure it was fastened in all the right places.

Raphtalia was taking practice swings with her sword. When I tried to come near her to talk, she moved away.

"Raphtalia, I'm sorry but-"

In the corner of my vision, status magic sprung to life, a big 00:00 appearing next to Nao- _Master's_ name. A great light enveloped me, and I felt myself being lifted. A moment later, my feet hit solid dirt and a warping sound. I looked up as the light dissipated and saw the sky being enveloped in a half crimson, half orange color. Bluish-purple rifts opened in the sky, and beings started to pour from the cracks in reality.

I didn't realise it, but my heart was pounding itself out of my ribcage. After a shout, I saw the other three heroes' parties rushing towards a large rift near a plateau, a gigantic chimera struggling to fit itself through the already big hole.

"Naofumi! Look!" Raphtalia yelled. She pointed towards a familiar village. Riyuute.

We rushed there, Raphtalia leading the charge. We entered the town, residents throwing up furniture and random things to attempt to barricade the streets. I heard the screams of the unlucky few stuck in the hordes.

I froze, memories rushing by me.

Hordes of monsters enveloping a family…

A single man struggling to protect his wife and daughter from a group of goblins…

_My parents being eaten alive._

Through the visions of my past, I saw Raphtalia. Without fear or hesitation, she jumped into the fray, slicing at monsters, barreling towards the villagers.

I looked in awe. Master joined up behind her, covering her behind.

It took a skeleton stumbling over to me, raising their sword to break me out of my trance. I dodged, it's sword hitting earth. I used the outstretched arm as a footstep and kicked the rest of the body away, the arm coming off it's shoulder. I then summoned a small fireball and tossed it towards the skeleton, charring the rest of it.

The rest of the horde was mostly lizardmen. I began a chant, focusing on the area away from Raphtalia and Master. "I am the mage of Rurorona Village! Summon forth a ball of flames to engulf these foes! Tsuvait Fire!" A jet of fire sprung forth from my finger, and I doused the area in it. The lizardmen fell, their bodies turned black.

Master's voice boomed, commanding the attention of everyone. "Evacuate to the hills! Don't let the monsters follow you!"

The few militiamen and town guards decided to follow his orders and started to guide the citizenry away from the town.

Master ran into the town, bashing away monsters that got close to him. Raphtalia nearly laid chase, but I caught her by the arm.

"Raphtalia!" I yelled. "C'mon let's get out of here!"

"What?" she asked.

"We don't have time! You know he won't survive being in that infested town. We have to go now, or they'll take us too."

"That's why I have to save him. We have to."

"We can escape now in the chaos! I've been planning this for a while." I moved my arm, opening up my cloak. "3 days worth of food, packed and ready to go. We can make our way to Siltvelt and live free, Raphtalia."

"Naofumi is a good man. Our society ends when we abandon good men like him, when we toss out good men like him. We can't betray him like this!"

I clenched a fist. "He cannot be good, Raphtalia. He is our oppressor, our owner and our abuser. Sure, he may don sheep's clothing now, but that only masks the wolf underneath. The other heroes don't trust him, the people don't, and neither does the church. It's only a matter of time bef-"

The resounding sound of a slap filled the air, and a sharp pain went through my cheek. My head swung to the side, shock filling me.

Raphtalia's quiet voice, always gentle, yet this time poisoned with seething anger came out.

"I support Naofumi. If you don't, join the rest of them."

At that moment, reality shattered.

My vision blurred, as well as my mind. My brain swelled trying to process the information, then shrank, rejecting it all.

No.

Raphtalia…

Raphtalia can't have chosen…

But…

That would mean she'd chosen Master over…

Over…

_Over me…_

She chose a stranger. No, an enemy, over me. Is she the enemy?

Impossible, Raphtalia is never the enemy.

Then… is Master my ally?

Never. Masters are always the enemy.

Then what is this Master?

What is Naofumi… to me?

-xXx-

**A/N: This section is in Raphtalia's POV.**

As I stomped away from Ariete, a part of me felt utterly melancholic. I gave her a final look before running off to follow Naofumi. She was still physically standing, yet I felt like she'd collapsed.

I steeled myself. "Raphtalia, you're doing the right thing." I muttered under my breath as I turned a corner.

It was probably a lie, but one or two never hurt anyone.

I continued running, searching for Naofumi.

I found him as I ran into a plaza, being chased by a horde of monsters, stumbling over each other.

He saw me, and nodded. I nodded back.

He spun around, deploying his shield between him and the hordes. I slid beside him and swung my sword, striking 3 lizardmen across the chest and sending them back against other warm bodies. I thrust into another, before parrying a blow and kicking the attacker away.

The sound of wind came from behind me as a translucent green shield blocked a blow I'd missed. Naofumi bashed some enemies towards me, and I struck at them with ease.

I turned back to face the horde. Despite felling a full household of them, the mass of monsters hadn't shrunk one bit.

Naofumi pointed towards a small town square and we ran.

A bunch of wasps occupied our escape route.

Suddenly, large orbs of light shot up into the sky. They coalesced into a single ball and then burst, a rain of flames fell from the sky.

"RAPHTALIA! GET DOWN!"

I ducked, and felt Naofumi's warm embrace.

Peeking out from behind his cloak, I saw the flames hit the homes of the people we'd defend, and set them alight.

As I saw them burn, something hit me.

Ariete was still out there.

**I'll be honest, the delay of this chapter was thanks in no small part to osu. Blame ppy for this.**

**Additionally, it's the one year anniversary of Twinning (the Original) being released! I hope to finish the rewrite before Autumn, and take a break from SH fics until S2 is out (I hear that a fall 2020 - winter 2021 release date is planned, so it won't be too long) and thus the series can have a long-awaited sequel then.**

**For now, the rewrite goes on!**

**Also, after a rewatch of Shield Hero, I realized that I've left out way, way too much. **

**This time for an Omake, I decided to also give a nod to the Series being added to Isekai Quartet! **

**(Non-Canon) Crossover Omake: Slightly Similar.**

**Set during the Valentine's day episode. **

I stared at the blonde, blue eyed girl standing, glaring at me from the height of my waist. I looked down at her, a box of chocolate in hand.

"Say, Tanya, shouldn't you be sharing these?" I said, a mad grin taking over my face.

She gave me a look filled with the most wrathful, unrestrained and raw anger ever displayed on a child's face. I blinked.

She looked over to her brown headed friend, Viktorya.

_Visha, for god's sake help me out! _She gestured.

Visha shook her head, a very firm smile on her lips. _Your chocolate, Major._

I took the opportunity to slip out of the classroom.

-xXx-

_Curse you, Being X!_

Not only had he convinced that girl to take my chocolate, but it was the chocolate for Colonel Lerhgen.

The damn deity is hell-bent on obstructing every plan I have.

That chocolate is necessary.

Absolutely necessary.

-xXx-

I snuck into the unused classroom. Sitting down at one of the desks, and blowing the dust off, I set down my spoils of war.

One box of premium chocolates.

The aroma itself tickled my senses. It was better than the exorbitantly expensive square I'd had years ago in the Village.

Dad had gone to Faubley and gotten two squares for the same price as a Filolial. It had been the most rich experience I'd ever felt in my mouth.

I gingerly lifted a piece to my mouth, then took a bite.

-xXx-

I panted as I spun up the third orbless agility spell I'd needed to cast all day. Only a single hour was left until the end of the day, and if I didn't get Lerghen that chocolate, I'd imply I'd only given them to him as an afterthought.

I have to get those in today.

I checked what felt like the 100th classroom that day (Why is this school so large?!) and found Ariete.

I looked at her chocolate stained face, to the empty box, then at last to the final chocolate in her hand.

She stared at me.

With a crisp sound, the final piece landed in her mouth and went down her throat.

A lick made her face nearly clean.

At that moment, my list of hated things was updated.

Being X, followed by murderers, followed by Ariete, then communists.

_Girl, I am going to end you._

**Well, have a good February, and I'll see you in spring!**


End file.
